From the Keys to the Panhandle, Florida welcomes you with the talented workforce, top-ranked infrastructure, global connectivity and quality of life your company needs.

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Competing in today’s global market can present challenges. Your business location shouldn’t be one of them. That’s why Florida has created a business-friendly environment to enable companies like yours to grow quickly. From the Keys to the Panhandle, regions across the state understand what it takes to do business and stand ready to welcome you with the talented workforce, top-ranked infrastructure, global connectivity and quality of life your company needs.

Making Gainesville Greater

Gainesville isn’t just Florida’s premier destination for higher education. The Greater Gainesville region has built out a sophisticated and extensive infrastructure that supports businesses of varying sizes and industries.

The seeds of future multi-million dollar businesses are formed in places like the University of Florida’s many research institutes and centers. UF Innovate, the University’s top-ranked technology transfer office, helps commercialize the many ideas generated on campus, matching the technology with the entrepreneurial team or company that can best take the idea to market. The region’s many incubators (like the Sid Martin Incubator, named the nation’s best incubator in 2017) help these young startups accelerate growth.

These high-growth businesses attract entry-level talent from both UF (one of the nation’s top 10 public universities) and Santa Fe College (named the nation’s top community college in 2015). As their workforce needs diversify and expand, Gainesville area companies can draw from many other sources of talent, both home-grown (through sophisticated high school job readiness and university graduate programs) and transplanted (attracted to the region for its educational opportunities, great hospital network, natural beauty and growing industry segments like biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, high tech, logistics and agricultural sciences).

When these businesses are ready to move out to their own offices, retail spaces and labs, they can take their pick from dozens of development projects around the region, and take advantage of the many streamlined services offered by the many municipalities in the area, like the City of Gainesville’s Department of Doing.

The city’s quaint downtown and historic districts, filled with Victorian charm and grandiose moss-covered oak trees, stands in sharp contrast to the many sophisticated live/work/play developments bringing in high-end retail, grocery and entertainment experiences just on the other side of campus. But somehow, it all manages to work together, creating an experience that is certainly unique to Florida, if not the country.

For more information, contact Staci Bertrand with the Gainesville Area Chamber at [email protected]

Florida’s Front Porch

Hamilton County is a rural area, rich in history, and loaded with real Southern charm. The region is perfectly located at Florida’s primary northern entryway of I-75 and I-10 but is more than location and logistics. Hamilton County is about people. For generations, the community has attracted tourists to its pristine springs, rivers and rich natural beauty. Just as they welcome visitors to the banks of their rivers and front porches of their homes, the Hamilton County Development Authority welcomes businesses and industry investments.

Cultiva Farms, Hamilton County, Florida

Home to 72,000 acres of farmland valued at more than $45 million, agriculture is the fabric of of the region’s economy. With a rich agrarian history and a landscape dotted with century pioneer farms, Hamilton County offers a competitive edge for agriculture and food manufacturing/processing industries. Beyond the numbers, Hamilton’s workforce is affordable and skilled in the industry.

Seeing the rich agricultural assets in Hamilton County, Cultiva Farms USA constructed a cold storage facility, as part of a $10 million project to grow leafy salad crops in Jennings. Cultiva Farms USA is a partnership between Italian company, Cultiva, and the largest American producer of fresh-cut vegetables and fruit, Taylor Farms. Together, they are bringing specialized Italian growing techniques to the US to increase production on the east coast.

“We see this project as an exciting opportunity not only for our company but for agriculture and Hamilton County overall,” said Federico Boscolo, President, Cultiva Farms USA. “Bringing new agricultural techniques to the east coast of the United States has the potential to dramatically increase production while creating local job opportunities in Jennings. We are thrilled with our progress and thankful for the community’s continued support of our business.”

For information about doing business in Hamilton County, contact Susan Ramsey with the Hamilton County Development Authority at [email protected]

Florida Within Reach

When you are located between two of the largest metro areas in the state of Florida (Tampa and Orlando), e-commerce, fulfillment and distribution centers naturally gravitate to your community. Polk County’s distribution and logistics hub is home to many household names – Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Coca-Cola, FedEx, Rooms to Go, Saddle Creek Logistics – just to name a few. These big boxes employ thousands, occupy millions of square feet and invest tens of millions in the local economy.

Centrally located, with a growing labor pool, a well-educated workforce, superior logistics, an extensive transportation system, and a progressive business community, Polk County has emerged as one of Florida’s hottest centers not only for e-commerce, fulfillment and distribution centers, but for advanced manufacturing, as well.

Polk County’s largest capital investment project was in advanced manufacturing when Nucor, the largest steel company in the U.S., announced its plans to build a $240 million rebar micro-mill which will employ 250 at an average annual wage of $66,000. Construction is underway and is estimated to be completed in the summer of 2020.

Working with the Polk County Board of County Commissioners and economic development partners throughout the county, the Central Florida Development Council (CFDC) ended the 2017-2018 fiscal year with eight successful relocations and expansions representing 1,386 new jobs, nearly 1.5 million square feet of real estate and more than $335.4 million in capital investment. Most of these projects received both state and local incentives and all received full support of the Polk County Board of County Commissioners. Qualified targeted industries who expand or relocate to Polk County are potentially eligible for a number of incentives that includes tax rebates, grants, ad valorem tax exemption on both real and tangible property and impact fee mitigation.

For more information and a confidential assessment of an expansion or relocation project, please contact Jennifer Taylor at the Central Florida Development Council.Jennifer can be reached at [email protected]

Ohio consistently ranks as one of the top U.S. destinations for new corporate facilities, meaning prime sites are quickly snapped up. Economic development officials and private developers are working cooperatively to ensure the pipeline of immediately-developable sites stays full with diverse location opportunities.

Valdosta-Lowndes County, Georgia is a vibrant and premier location for business development opportunities. Located midway between Atlanta and Orlando in the heart of South Georgia, Valdosta-Lowndes County is strategically positioned for businesses to access and serve the global economy.

The U.S. Green Building Council will use the Bank of America grant to support its LEED for Cities and Communities Program. - Read: $500,000 Grant Will Help 15 U.S. Communities’ Sustainability Efforts at FacilityExecutive.com.

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